U.S. to Field "Championship of Heroes" Team

NewsMay 6, 1999

CHICAGO (Thursday, May 6, 1999) - The U.S. Soccer Federation announced plans today to field a team for the inaugural Championship of Heroes tournament taking place in Trinidad and Tobago in June. The eight-team tournament features former international players at least 35-years-old (or retired from professional soccer) from Brazil, England, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and host Trinidad & Tobago, in addition to the United States.

Veteran U.S. forward Roy Wegerle, who earned 41 international caps
as a member of two U.S. World Cup Teams, was appointed by U.S. Soccer as
player/coach of the Heroes team and will be responsible for assembling the
20-player roster. Wegerle, who turned 35 earlier this year, recently
retired from professional soccer after a distinguished career.

"This is a great honor," said Wegerle. "With some of the
international names taking part, the tournament is sure to grab some
worldwide attention. We're starting from a scratch a bit with our team,
but once we contact the players on our wish list, I'm confident we will be
fielding a good, solid team."

To be eligible for selection, a player must have at least two
international caps and be either a minimum 35-years-old as of Dec. 31,
1999, or retired from the professional game. The only other tournament
stipulation requires seven of the 11 players on the field at all times to
have at least 10 caps.

The short list of eligible U.S. players includes former U.S. World
Cup standouts Fernando Clavijo (1994 World Cup) and Thomas Dooley (1994 &
1998), as well as forward Eric Eichmann (1990). Dooley will miss the
team's first match on June 17 against Spain at the Centre of Excellence in
Port-of-Spain, but has been released by the Columbus Crew for the games on
June 19 vs. England and June 21 vs. Germany.

Although the team will not have an official training camp together
prior to their June 13 departure for Trinidad, Wegerle has designed a
fitness training schedule for the team to ensure everyone arrives at close
to the same fitness levels. The final roster must be submitted by
May 26.

A number of famous names are rumored to be taking part in the
tournament, including Andreas Brehme (Germany), Emilio Butragueno (Spain),
Careca (Brazil), Gary Lineker (England), Karl-Heinz Rummenigge (Germany),
Chris Waddle (England), Ray Wilkins (England) and Zico (Brazil).

The U.S. has been drawn into Group B with Spain, England and
Germany. Group A consists of Brazil, France, Italy and Trinidad & Tobago.
The top two teams from each group will meet in the semifinals on June 23
and 24. The third place match is scheduled for June 26 and the final is
June 27.

In addition to competing for prize money totaling more than $1.5
million, the teams will compete for the Joao Havelange Trophy, named in
honor of the former FIFA President who will present it to the winning team
at the Championship of Heroes Final in the National Stadium in
Port-of-Spain on June 27.

U.S.
"Championship of Heroes" Team

PRELIMINARY
PLAYER POOL

Name

Pos.

D.O.B.

Caps/G

Name

Pos.

D.O.B.

Caps/G

Amr Aly

M

8/01/62

8/0

Tom Kain

M

7/01/63

4/0

Desmond Armstrong

D

11/2/64

81/0

Ty Keough

D

12/19/56

9/0

Jimmy Banks

D

9/02/64

36/0

John Kerr, Jr.

F

3/06/65

16/2

Tony Bellinger

M

12/8/57

7/1

Hayden Knight

F

3/17/57

3/0

Chico Borja

M

8/24/59

11/3

Cle Kooiman

D

7/04/63

12/1

Michael Brady

F

7/01/64

3/0

Paul Krumpe

M

3/04/63

25/0

David Brcic

GK

1/21/58

4/0

Jacques Ladouceur

M

4/29/59

9/0

Dan Canter

D

11/16/61

9/0

Doc Lawson

D

2/01/58

3/0

Fernando Clavijo

D

1/23/57

61/0

Neil Megson

D

7/27/62

2/0

Michael Collins

M

11/17/61

2/0

Janusz Michallik

M

4/22/66

44/1

Ricky Davis

M

11/24/58

35/7

Bruce Murray

F

1/25/66

86/21

Thomas Dooley

D/M

5/12/61

81/7

George Pastor

F

--

7/0

Jeff Duback

GK

--

4/0

Hugo Perez

M

11/08/63

73/13

Jeff Durgan

D

8/28/61

7/1

Bruce Savage

D

12/21/60

16/0

Eric Eichmann

F

5/07/65

29/4

Troy Snyder

D

11/24/65

5/0

Dale Ervine

F

5/19/64

5/0

John Stollmeyer

D

10/25/62

31/0

Mike Fox

M

9/24/61

17/0

Chris Sullivan

F

4/18/65

18/2

Chance Fry

M

6/29/64

4/0

Gregg Thompson

D

8/04/60

12/0

Jim Gabarra

M

10/22/59

14/0

Perry van der Beck

F

11/6/59

24/2

Brent Goulet

F

6/19/64

8/0

David Vanole

GK

2/06/63

14/0

Jean Harbor

F

9/19/65

15/0

Martin Vasquez

D

12/24/63

7/0

Jeff Hooker

D

--

11/1

Roy Wegerle

F

3/19/64

41/7

Bernie James

D

11/25/58

2/0

Head Coach: Roy Wegerle

ROSTER NOTES: The final "Championship
of Heroes" roster will be announced during the final week of May. ... The
45 players listed above are eligible players selected for notification
by coach Roy Wegerle. ... A few players above have yet to be officially
contacted by U.S. Soccer to verify their schedule availability. ... Eligible
players already contacted who are unable to participate have not been listed.